Rings and Jewels
by Anatine Cookies
Summary: It's the final battle with Naraku. Something unexpected happens and Naraku and Kagome are thrown into the well together. Where do they end up? In Middle Earth. LotR x IY
1. Chapter 1

-1Title

Chapter 1

"PERVERT!"

Kagome woke with the sound of a slap. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself farther into her sleeping bag. She lay there for a moment, before feeling a certain little fox demon jump on top of her, and she gave in to the whining of the kitsune.

"Wake up! Wake up!" He jumped up and down, obviously hungry.

"Good morning, Shippo." She yawned and stretched, and got up to make InuYasha his ramen. Kagome sighed when a smile burst across the monks face, and winced as she heard Sango's hand meet his face. She scooped out the noodles into a bowl, and handed it to the hanyou before taking her own bowl. Kagome heard a scrape and looked up to see Sango dragging hiraikotsu between her and the perverted houshi. Miroku looked at the demon exterminator with a hurt expression, but that immediately changed to concern when he saw Kagome had left the hut and given her untouched bowl to InuYasha (who quickly scarfed it down).

"Lady Kagome?" He stood and followed her outside. Her brow was furrowed, and she stared in the direction of the well. Something wasn't right.

"It's a shard…" she told him. InuYasha heard her and rushed outside unsheathing tetsusaiga. Kagome threw out a hand to stop him, eyes widening. He threw her a look, but she just stared in the well's general direction. Sango hurried out with her boomerang and Kagome's bow and arrows. She stopped dead in her tracks when Kagome turned to face them all, her eyes wide with fear. "It's Naraku."

InuYasha sniffed the air, and caught his scent. But in past times, it had been a puppet. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Does Naraku let puppets carry his shards?" By this time, the jewel was almost complete, but in Naraku's hands. They had three shards of their own, and were certain Naraku had the rest, except for Kouga's two. "Shippo, stay with Kaede. I don't want you getting hurt."

"But -"

"Stay." Her face was different than he'd ever seen it before. He asked her why, and her face softened a bit. "Because. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." He couldn't argue with her, and so reluctantly went back inside the hut.

"So this is it, then," Sango muttered with an odd realization. It had struck her that they might not make it out of this. The group stood there silently, half reluctant to leave as the thought of never seeing someone again sunk in. InuYasha broke the silence.

"Well, let's get going. We have a demon to kill." Kagome looked up at him, and he bent a little, allowing her to get on his back.

"Kirara!" The fire cat transformed and Sango and Miroku climbed on. They didn't have to ride, but they didn't want to walk, either.

She took off, following InuYasha and Kagome. In the distance, they saw Naraku nearing the well from the far side. He had a slight smile, knowing that they were coming for him. They met him just as he passed the well. This confirmed Kagome's suspicions. He had been coming for them and their shards. InuYasha set her down and Kirara landed next to them. Sango positioned hiraikotsu on her arm, and Kagome notched an arrow.

"What do you want, Naraku?" InuYasha yelled as he unsheathed tetsusaiga.

"What do I want? The shards, InuYasha. The shards and your lives." He smiled evilly and drew his own sword. "Starting with yours."


	2. Chapter 2

-1Chapter 2

"What do I want? I want the shards, InuYasha. The shards and your lives. Starting with yours." Just as Naraku said this, poisonous insects and demons of every kind came bursting out of the forest.

Sango spun around and let hiraikotsu fly. The boomerang decapitated a few before faithfully returning to her. She whipped out her katana and slashed at a few before letting her boomerang loose again. Miroku knocked a few around with his staff, just to make sure they wouldn't reach Kagome who was letting arrows fly into the mass, sometimes killing two or three at once.

InuYasha and Naraku exchanged blows. They went back and forth, getting hits in now and then. Naraku was getting bored, and let his tentacles erupt from his back. InuYasha glared at him. Tentacles? Where in hell had he gotten tentacles? Naraku sent one whizzing past InuYasha who cut it off. It grew back, as did the next three he sent at the hanyou.

They fell into a pattern, and again Naraku got bored. His boredom vanished when InuYasha swung tetsusaiga at his head and almost hit him. Naraku gave an evil smile and sent a tentacle flying through the air towards the three fighting the huge group of demons (which had thinned greatly since they had started).

InuYasha didn't notice until the last second before it slashed through Kagome's arm. She yelped, and Miroku caught her before she hit the ground. She ran her hand across the gash and winced.

"Lady Kagome, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." It wasn't really that big or deep, but it stung. She bit her lip and picked up her bow again and continued to shoot at the demons, but with less accuracy.

Naraku smirked at the expression on InuYasha's face. "Hit a soft spot, have I?" The hanyou gave him a deep glare and started to slash at every bit of him he could reach. Partially because he had hurt Kagome at all, but more from the fact that if Kagome hadn't moved at the last second, Naraku would have ran her through.

InuYasha became more and more infuriated at Naraku as the battle continued, because with every glance toward his companions brought another wound to one of them.

Sango let hiraikotsu go again, and stepped in front of Miroku who had insisted he wrap up Kagome's arm. The demons kept coming, and it was getting harder for the three to kill so many of them.

"Sango!" Miroku shouted "Get rid of the bugs." She nodded and flung her boomerang at the poisonous insects knowing what Miroku intended to do. Kagome let some arrows fly, and purified the remaining bugs. Miroku yanked off his rosary beads, and sucked up the rest of the demons. He swayed a moment, and sat down. Kagome started to bandage some of her friends' wounds, and watch InuYasha carefully.

Naraku was fully aware that the threesome had beat his demons. He was starting to get frantic now. He hadn't expected them to be this strong, but then again he had counted on ripping the rest of the shards from Kagome and running to kill that pathetic wolf Koga to complete the jewel. But InuYasha kept him from going anywhere near Kagome at great physical cost. He kept fighting because only one thought was in his mind: If I don't fight, he'll kill Kagome. And he had promised to protect her. So he fought as best he could, but it was getting more difficult to keep Naraku away, and he was slowly beginning to realize this.

Naraku sent three miasma-filled tentacles toward where Kagome was fixing up her friends.

"Almost done." The miko smiled. She finished bandaging Sango up, and moved on to Miroku. So far, they were winning. But something didn't seem right about it all. She'd expected it to be harder than this. She glanced toward Naraku and InuYasha, only to find tentacles coming toward her.

Kagome screamed and shut her eyes, fearing the worst. But the strike never happened. She only felt a writhing severed tentacle against her leg before it turned to dust. She looked up and saw InuYasha on his knees, coughing. He gasped for breath, but the miasma was thick and wouldn't let up.

_No way…This isn't happening. _She stared at him intently and noticed something- InuYasha wasn't breathing. She gasped and stood up, tears flooding her eyes. She was about to run to him when she felt an arm holding her back.

"Miroku! Let me go! Let go! INUYASHA!" She screamed and struggled with the houshi who was desperately trying to keep her away from the fallen hanyou. She fought with him until finally she broke free.

Kagome ran over to him and knelt next to him. She was right. He wasn't breathing. The miasma was too thick. She was beginning to cough too. She shook InuYasha, trying to get him to wake up.

"InuYasha! Wake up! Goddamnit, InuYasha wake up!" She shook him violently and heard a small laugh come from the man in front of her. She suddenly realized InuYasha was never going to get up. She stood, her eyes still on the hanyou.

Kagome looked up at Naraku, with the most hateful look she had ever had on her face. "You killed him. You killed InuYasha……" she whispered. That one thought echoed through her mind a few times before being replaced by a new thought.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" She shrieked. Naraku laughed, but stopped when he saw the miko rocketing towards him. He would have killed her easily, but he couldn't. He was too stunned. He hadn't expected her to do what she did next.

Kagome threw herself on top of Naraku, tearing at every bit of him she could reach. Hate burned in her eyes. Miroku and Sango were just as stunned as Naraku. They had never seen Kagome like this. She was scary.

She beat every bit of him she could reach. Naraku finally came to his senses and pushed her off, backing up against the well. He was truly terrified of the miko. He had never imagined that she would act like this. She stood again and tackled him, and they fell into the well together. One of his miasma filled tentacles was ripped off trying to catch the side of the well. The miasma filled the well, and Kagome coughed on the way down, still trying to tear Naraku apart. They hit the bottom and vanished with an unusual soft green glow.

- -

Unknown to Kagome or Naraku, the second Kagome stood up, she had purified the air around InuYasha. He coughed and gasped, air filling his lungs. He sat up slowly and looked, just in time, to see Kagome tackle Naraku into the well. He stood in shock for a moment before rushing to the side of the well and looking in. He saw them hit the bottom and disappear in a green glow. He instantly knew something was wrong. He leaned farther in and coughed, and pulled his head out of the well. Miasma.

"KAGOME!" He found his voice and howled. "Kagome…"

Sango hurried over, knowing something was wrong with the hanyou. She poked her head down the well and didn't see Kagome or Naraku. They had disappeared. She threw her mask at the hanyou.

"Go get her! Jump in the well and help her!" The hanyou strapped on her mask and jumped down the well. Nothing. He climbed out and saw Sango staring at him in horror.

"Lady Kagome…she's not…?" Miroku began. InuYasha shook his head.

"Kagome! InuYasha why isn't the well working? You have to go help her! Naraku'll kill her!" Sango pounded on the hanyou's chest.

"She's…she's not down there. They disappeared…but…it was green and now the well…." For the first time in his life, Miroku saw the hanyou devastated. He put an arm around Sango, who was still crying. She stared at the hanyou, tears flowing down her face. She'd never seen him lose the will to be active either.

InuYasha sat on the ground leaning up against the well. He stared at nothing. Kagome wasn't in the well…and it wasn't working. They were probably both….He couldn't complete the thought. He didn't want to.

He opened his mouth but was silent, as if looking for the words. They finally came to him and he turned to Miroku. "What…what happened after I blacked out?" Miroku had been watching.

The monk sighed. It all happened so fast. "You choked on the miasma and it blocked your lungs. You stopped breathing. Kagome…I tried to hold her back, but she broke away from me and ran over to you. She shook you, but you wouldn't wake up. She…" His eyes closed, remembering the look on Kagome's face. "InuYasha, I've never seen her act that way. She was furious. And she attacked him."

InuYasha was staring at the monk, taking it all in. "Did she use her arrows? Or anything?"

Miroku shook his head slightly. "No…she just…ran at him and she…Kagome tackled him to the ground. Without anything. InuYasha…she thought you were dead. She was…scary." Sango nodded in agreement. "Anyway, he backed against the well after throwing her off and she tackled him again….then……." He gestured with his hand toward the well.

InuYasha stared at him. It was his fault. If he'd only…If he'd only….He couldn't think of what he could have done to stop her. Realization finally hit him. The well wasn't working. They were gone. Wherever they were, Naraku was stronger than her. Kagome was gone, and she was probably never coming back.

"InuYasha?" Sango sobbed. She brought her knees to her chest. "Do you…Do you think she'll be okay?"

InuYasha continued to stare at where Miroku had stood. The monk had knelt down to comfort Sango, but the hanyou never moved his gaze. InuYasha didn't answer her. He wanted with all his heart to say yes, that she'd be fine, but he knew he couldn't. He refused to accept the fact that Kagome had disappeared with _Naraku_, of all people, and was probably…….dead.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome screamed, falling down the well. She screamed as the green light enveloped her and Naraku, transporting her to who knows where. She screamed a third time as she hit the ground in a forest in god-only-knows-where, and continued to tear at Naraku. She wanted to kill him. She wanted him dead. She wanted him dead, right now. But for him to be dead, she had to kill him. Her mind had completely shut down, and wasn't processing anything but that.

Naraku was still shocked, but it had gotten through to him that the miko wanted him to die more than anything, and she wasn't going to get off of him until he was dead. He wrapped one of his tentacles around her waist and lifted her off the ground, intending to throw him off of her. Naraku still couldn't believe it. He was fighting for his life against a miko. Against a human. But then again, she was the most terrifying human he had ever come across, let alone try to kill. He was thinking about how unbelievable this was, when he felt a sharp pain in the tendril.

Kagome had had a revelation. She had arrows. And she was a miko. She could use this new idea to kill him. She shoved an arrow in the tentacle around her waist, reducing it to dust with her miko powers. He dropped her, and she fell a distance. She broke the fall with her hands. Then all of a sudden she was snapped into a new thought. She screamed and remembered InuYasha. She remembered falling into the well with Naraku. She knew she wanted to kill him. She threw herself at him again, but with more intensity. She now had remembered why she wanted to kill him, why she wanted him dead.

He flung her into a tree and she froze as he closed in on her. He closed the gap between them, and she could feel his fear, feel the heat from his body on her skin. She tried to tackle him again but he pinned her to the tree with his hands. Her eyes widened and she had a feeling that this was the end. She couldn't die without killing him first. She had to kill him because he killed InuYasha.

InuYasha. His picture burst into her mind and she kicked Naraku in the chest. He stumbled backwards and fell. She threw herself on top of him to stop him from getting up. She ripped a few tentacles from his back, and miasma filled the air again. Kagome struggled to keep him down, and reached back for an arrow. She had him. She knew she did.

A look of fear came across her face. She had no more arrows. She looked around for a sharp stick, a rock, anything to stuff into the demon's chest that she could fill with miko energy. She heard something fall behind her and she turned, expecting to see a branch she could use. She saw something better. A quiver filled with arrows. She would have to let him up to get to them.

She punched him in the chest to keep him from throwing her off and he grunted in pain. It gave her enough time to make it to the arrows and pick up the quiver. She fumbled with it, spilling them all. She bend down and scooped one up, running at him again. His eyes widened in fear as he saw her come at him again. He took a step back but was thrown to the ground again as she landed on him. She held the arrow like a dagger and loaded it with the most miko energy she had ever put into an arrow. She pinned his arms to the ground with her legs and thrust it up into the soft flesh of his throat. He writhed and started to burn. Miasma poured from his body. He coughed up blood and more miasma. He started to melt away into a puddle of purple-green sludge. The miasma in the air was so thick, she coughed violently. His screams finally melted away like the rest of him.

She fell to her knees, fatigue finally overcoming her. She couldn't stop coughing from the miasma, and blackness started to play at the edges of her vision. Tears filled her eyes, as her only thoughts were of InuYasha. How could she have let him die? She didn't believe it. She didn't. She saw something shiny in Naraku's remains. She crawled over to it and pulled it out, burning her hand a bit. She smiled when she saw it. It was the jewel. Her vision swam and she collapsed, but felt a pair of strong arms under her, preventing her from hitting the ground as she passed out.

-==-

A group of people trekked through a forest, on their way to the mountainous trail that would lead them to the Mines of Moria. The group consisted of nine companions. It was odd, seeing them hike through the trees. For only four of them were of normal height, but all of them were full grown men.

The leader of the group was tall. Clothed in all gray, he carried a staff. His beard and hair were long and gray, matching his soft gray eyes. He wore a hat - a very tall, pointed one. He was a wizard, known throughout the land as Gandalf the Grey.

The next two were simply men. They both had brown hair, however one's was darker, and eyes the same deep brown. They were very similar, the both of them. Aragorn and Boromir. Both human.

Then there was the elf, Legolas. His ears, as the common stereotype of elves dictates, were pointed. He had long platinum blonde hair, tied up in a half ponytail. His eyes were brown as well. This elf was also a prince. He was a master archer, skilled more with a bow than swords, though he could rival almost anyone with swords and come out ahead.

A dwarf called Gimli accompanied them, walking next to the elf, battle axe drawn. He had a mess of a beard, braided and tangled, but was almost bald on the top of his head. His eyes were like the majority's - brown. He wore more armor than any of them, and was the only one with a helmet.

After the dwarf came the hobbits. The first two, Merry and Pippin, were almost identical, both with long, curly dirty blonde hair and eyes like chocolate. They were mischievous troublemakers where they came from. They loved to pull pranks, and go on wild adventures.

The other two hobbits did not look alike. One, Frodo, had curly hair, dark brown, and bright blue eyes. His skin was paler than the rest, and his cheeks were red. He carried a ring around his neck, for safekeeping. The other looked somewhat like the twins, except he was a bit shorter and his hair wasn't as long. He was had more muscle than any of the other hobbits, all from his years as a gardener. He was called Sam, short for Samwise.

So the group hiked even deeper into the forest, mostly walking in silence. They didn't walk long before Frodo turned to Aragorn.

"Thank you." He said. "I'm glad to have you along." The hobbit smiled, and Aragorn smiled back.

"I'm -" There was a scream some ways ahead. Aragorn glanced at Gandalf, who was watching Legolas. The elf had rushed ahead, bow drawn. The other followed him, but at a distance. Aragorn drew his sword and fell into step beside his friend. They stood behind a tree.

Legolas held up three fingers. Aragorn nodded. Three. Two. One. The sprung out of hiding and had their weapons pointed to the center of the tiny clearing. They instantly lowered them when they saw what was there. A girl with raven hair tearing at…something.

Neither of the men knew what it was. They glanced at each other, and back to the clearing. The thing had thrown the girl into a tree and was closing the gap between them. Legolas aimed, but the girl had already knocked him to the ground again. She had kicked him in the chest. They were on the ground again, and she struggled to keep him from getting up. She had his arms together under her foot.

Her back was to them, and when she reached behind her the elf saw she had no arrows left in her quiver. He saw her pause for a moment, before franticly struggling with the beast. He immediately unbuckled his quiver and tossed it at her. She didn't know the two were there, and when she heard the quiver hit the ground, she turned and her eyes widened in surprise.

She punched the monster in the chest and that gave her a moment to run to the arrows. She fumbled with the quiver, and spilled the arrows onto the ground. She grabbed one and tackled him again, throwing them both to the ground. She pinned him again, and stabbed him in the throat. Aragorn was in shock. What he was seeing didn't register completely.

A bright pink flash erupted from the arrow, and the beast began to cough violently and release a gas into the air. The girl coughed, and fell to her knees, watching the thing melt. She crawled over to its remains, and pulled something small from the puddle of goo. She held it in her fist and started to fall over. Aragorn rushed over to her and caught her, Legolas aiming at the remains of the thing. They looked at each other.

"What was that thing?" Pippin asked. The rest of their companions were staring toward the clearing through the trees. Aragorn opened his mouth and closed it again, not able to find the right words.

"I…I don't know." Legolas was at a loss. He'd never seen anything like it before. He retrieved his quiver and fallen arrows, and slung it over his shoulder. The rest of the group stumbled into the clearing.

"Whatever it was, she killed it." Aragorn said. Boromir knelt beside him, and looked down at the girl in Aragorn's arms. He shrugged.

"Never seen her before." He said before standing up and inspecting the goop with the hobbits. Gandalf took Boromir's place.

"Neither have I. But she's hurt. We'd better help her. Maybe she'll tell us when she wakes up," the wizard concluded. Aragorn nodded, and looked back at Legolas who had sat beside him and had already started to wrap up her arm.

-==-

InuYasha had sat down, and was staring at the well, hoping that if he glared at it long enough she might climb out. He had sat there long after the sun had set. So had the rest of them.

Shippo had come. When he heard about Kagome, he had curled up in Sango's lap and bawled his eyes out. He had fallen asleep from exhaustion, as had Sango. She was leaning up against Miroku, who also stared at the well.

The monk was fiddling with his prayer beads absentmindedly. He was shocked that Kagome was gone, and was deep in thought. Had she survived? Had she been able to escape Naraku? And where had she gone? He wanted to know, but more for Sango and InuYasha than for himself.

While he was playing with his beads, he slipped them off. He held them in his left hand for a moment before looking down. His eyes widened, and a smile burst across his face. He dangled the beads in front of Sango's face. She woke up to the rattles, and pulled them from the houshi's hand. She knew what they were, and threw her arms around Miroku, waking Shippo. The monk blushed and showed Sango his hand. Shippo snuggled against them both.

Sango grinned and threw them at the hanyou. They landed in his lap. For a moment, he ignored them. When he finally picked them up, he ran them through his hand once or twice before it registered that they were Miroku's prayer beads. He spun around in shock, thinking they had been attacked.

The monk had a smile on his face and held up his hand and wiggled his fingers at the hanyou. InuYasha's face lit up, and he howled joyously.

"InuYasha! She's killed him! She did it! She did it, InuYasha!" Sango cheered.

That one phrase echoed through the InuYasha forest as the forest's namesake shouted it to the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kagome tossed in her sleep. She was replaying the fight in her mind, over and over again. Every time she got to the part where she collapsed, it would start over. Eventually, the dream had narrowed down to one moment. Over and over again, she saw the hanyou cough and collapse. She would run to him and shake him, then tackle Naraku. She ran to him. He wouldn't wake up. It was her fault. If she hadn't been so weak he wouldn't have had to worry about her.

She saw the hanyou's face, eyes open, staring ahead. The miko bolted upright, scaring herself awake. She cringed as she bent her arm. Kagome saw the bandages and was confused. Didn't she pass out? Then who had…..

"InuYasha!" She looked around, but did not see the red haori. Instead, she saw eight sleeping bags, and two men leaning up against a tree. On watching the woods, the other watching her.

She stared at them, and the one looking at her nudged the other. He turned and saw her awake. They stood and came over to her and knelt beside her. One of them had brown hair and the other had long blonde hair and…pointed ears?

She shook her head, and stared at the brown haired one. He was saying something to her, and she hadn't been listening.

"Excuse me, miss? Are you alright?" She thought for a moment. What a funny question. Was she alright? No, she wasn't.

"Where am I?" She looked around. This wasn't the InuYasha forest. And she clearly remembered the fight, for it was burned into her memory forever.

"In the forest near Rivendell." The blonde had answered her.

"I'm not in Japan, am I?" She asked. The two looked at each other and shook their heads. She knew by the looks on their faces they'd never even heard of Japan.

"You're in Middle Earth. In a forest outside the elven city Rivendell. My name is Aragorn."

She looked at the ground. "I'm Kagome." The fire cracked, and she jumped. She pushed her hair back, and winced. Kagome looked down at her arm, then at the two of them. "Did you…?"

The elf nodded. "Yes. My name is Legolas." One of their companions had woken up.

"This is Boromir," Aragorn said, pointing to the one who had sat down next to him. "And that one snoring over there's Gimli. Those four are Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. And that's Gandalf the Grey." Aragorn said.

She sighed, taking it all in. She was in a completely different world, and she had to get back to the Feudal Era, back to Japan, to help Sango and Miroku…

"InuYasha," she whispered. She turned to Aragorn. "Where's the well? I have to get back…"

"There's no well around here," he told her.

She shook her head. "That's impossible. There has to be one. The Bone Eater's well, the dried up one. It's got to be around here somewhere." She looked around, expecting to see it somewhere. But there was no well.

"The miasma. It must have done something to the well. He had the jewel and that must have…." She gasped. "The Jewel!" She opened her fist and breathed a sigh of relief. The almost complete Shikon was there. She smiled at the look on their faces.

"The Shikon no Tama. Jewel of Four Souls." She ran a finger along it, and it met the crack. Five shards were still missing. She had three, and Koga had two. But at this rate, she'd never finish the jewel. She reached into the front of her shirt and took out the vial. But when she saw it, it was empty. "Oh no…please no." The shards were gone. She scrambled to the remains of Naraku and searched the ground. They watched her, wondering what she was looking for.

She stopped searching when she realized she didn't sense any shards. She buried her hands in her face as tears started to run down her cheeks. Boromir stood and put an arm around her. She leaned against him and cried. The rest of the group had woken up by now, and were watching her.

Boromir led her to the fire, and wrapped a blanket around her. She stared into the flames, thinking about everything that had happened. Legolas offered her some bread and she took it, and ate it silently. She felt a bit better after that and smiled at the group.

"Thank you guys. It…it means a lot to me after all this." She smiled at them and they couldn't help but smile back. Gandalf could tell she'd been through a lot.

After a while, he suggested that they get going. He invited Kagome to join them, and to everyone's delight, she accepted. They struck camp with more enthusiasm than ever before, glad to have a new companion. They all tried to make her feel at home and cheerful. She was glad to have met up with the group.

-==-

InuYasha woke the next morning and had a slight panic attack when he didn't find Kagome near. He sighed when he remembered she was…wherever she was. He was so happy that she'd made it, but worried to death about what had happened to her after that.

Sango saw his face and asked him what's wrong.

"It's just….Kagome must have made it and killed Naraku, right? So where the hell is she? Why can't she come back? And is she alright?"

Sango was confident and tried to cheer him up. "Well, she did it. All we can do is assume she's alive and well, and searching for a way back."

InuYasha nodded, and smiled at her. "You're right. She did it. She killed Naraku. All by herself."

Sango's expression changed quickly. She turned on the monk and he put an arm up to try and defend himself from the inevitable slap. It never came, and he asked her if she was okay.

"I'm fine. But as of now, there are more important things that slapping the shit out of you for being a perverted houshi." He nodded.

"Like what?" InuYasha asked.

"Like finding Kagome and bringing her back." She smiled, and so did the hanyou.

"I suggest we go back to the village and see if Kaede has any ideas on how to go about doing that." Miroku said. Sango nodded and jumped on Kirara. InuYasha sped off toward the village, eager to see Kaede.


	5. Chapter 5

They made their way through the forest, meeting the edge of the forest by nightfall. When they made camp, Merry and Pippin were still delighted and were singing and dancing away. When their merry celebration came to a close, it got very quiet. They all huddled around the fire. On Kagome's right sat Aragorn, then came Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, the four hobbits, then ended with Boromir on Kagome's left.

"So where exactly are we going?" It didn't occur to Kagome until just now that where they were going might not be very pleasant.

Gandalf placed his staff on his lap and sighed, and began to explain. "We're headed to a mountain in Mordor called Mount Doom. We have to throw the Ring into the fires to stop Sauron from taking over the world again. So now we're on the way to Moria to cut through the Mines on the way to Mordor."

Kagome nodded, and fell silent. Their quest reminded her of their own. This made her sure she wanted to help them. She couldn't complete her quest, and she wouldn't let theirs fail like hers had. Especially since, like hers, it had that tiny detail of possibly destroying the world if it failed.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was that thing you killed yesterday," asked Aragorn.

"Well, if you're to understand it, I should start from the beginning." She took a deep breath.

"I live in modern Japan. In Japan's legends, there are stories of a jewel. The Shikon no Tama, or the Jewel of Four Souls. It is said that there was once a miko, a priestess, who guarded the jewel. Her name was Kikyou. She fell in love with a hanyou. That's a half demon, half human. This one was half dog demon, half human. She loved him, but they were turned against each other by an evil demon called Naraku. He made Kikyou shoot the hanyou with a sacred arrow, and she pinned him to a tree and he fell into a sleep. She died, and the jewel was burned with her body. I'm her reincarnation. Three years ago, I did not know of this. I didn't know I was her reincarnation, and that the Shikon Jewel was inside me. I fell into the well then, and because of the jewel I was transported 500 years into the past. In that time, it was 50 years since the miko had died. I remember running through the forest, and I found the hanyou, and pulled his arrow out. He woke from his sleep. His name was InuYasha."

She went on to tell them of how the jewel shattered, InuYasha's necklace, and a bit about mikos. She recounted some of her experiences, and told them of Sango, Miroku (laughing as she talked about his perverseness), Shippo, Koga, Kikyou's return, and more about Naraku and the pain he caused. Then she skipped forward a bit and told them of yesterday.

"The demon I killed yesterday was Naraku. He had the jewel, and was coming for the two shards that I had. We met him by the well, and InuYasha fought him and kept him away from us. Sango fought demons, while Miroku kept them from me so I could shoot them with arrows and keep them away from us. Naraku sent a tentacle at me. It was filled with miasma. InuYasha cut it off, but the miasma filled his lungs and…he…" She stopped, and couldn't say the words, but she didn't need to finish. They knew.

"Anyway, I didn't believe it. I tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't. And…and I don't know what came over me, but I tackled Naraku down the well and I ended up here. I attacked him again, but I found that I had no arrows left. Then I heard something behind me and…." She stopped as Legolas's quiver caught her eye. "That was you, wasn't it?" Legolas smiled and nodded slightly.

"Well, I killed him. I rammed a sacred arrow into his jugular." she smiled. "He deserved it. For all the pain he caused everyone." Kagome paused and sighed. She sat for a moment and looked at Legolas. "Thank you. For your arrows, I mean. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't done that." The elf nodded again and turned a light shade of pink.

"Kagome, you've been through more than I thought you had been. More than anyone here, I can tell you that." Aragorn's comment made her blush. "I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm almost glad that you ended up here, or else we never would have met." She nodded, eyes watering. "And thank you for joining us. I can tell you that those two are most delighted that you are coming with us." He pointed to Merry and Pippin, who had fallen asleep on top of each other out of exhaustion.

Kagome smiled. "I'm glad to have come here too." They were silent for a moment, before Gandalf announced that he was going to turn in for the night. Frodo and Sam followed suit, and Boromir and Kagome climbed into bed as well. That left Aragorn and Legolas to think about things.

"You saw her destroy that monster. Her arrows will come in handy," Aragorn predicted.

Legolas nodded. "I'm sure. But what happens if, after we're done with all of this, she still can't find a way back?"

"I don't know. We'll have to see what happens to us, first." Aragorn stood up. "I'll take first watch."

"Good night, then." Legolas turned in, and quickly fell asleep.

-==-

InuYasha was getting frustrated. Kaede wasn't giving him a straight answer. It was really a simple yes or no question. Then she just had to tell him how. How to bring Kagome back.

"Is there or is there not?!" The hanyou was screaming at her now. She kept phrasing her words in awkward ways, that he obviously wasn't understanding.

"_Yes_ InuYasha, there is. Haven't you been listening? But it's going to be intensely complicated and difficult, especially for you."

"Well? What is it?"

Kaede sighed. He wouldn't stop pestering her and she knew once she told him he would regret ever wanting to know. "InuYasha, to bring her back, you need to do a lot. It's a very complicated process, and involves intense traveling and, as usual, some killing and fighting. But it's going to be difficult, especially for you."

"Okay, okay. So it's going to be hard. I wasn't expecting it to be easy. So how do I do it?"

"Kagome needs two things to be able to come back. She needs the completed jewel. Three of the shards she has with her, but two of them are still here. You must get the shards from Koga and bring them to her. To do that, you must find out where she is first. Depending on where she is will determine how you get there. And I'm sure Miss Sango and Miroku will like to go with you."

"Okay. And what was the second thing?"

" InuYasha…" Kaede wasn't sure if he'd be ready for this. He'd have to make one heck of a choice.

"What is it?"

"You're not going to like this." She told him. She didn't want to hurt him more than he was already.

"What else does she need!"

"The other half of her soul, InuYasha."


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, guys. Sorry it's been forever. I did some very, very light tweaking in chapters 3, 4, and 5, and I scrapped the original Ch. 6. This is Ch. 6 version 2.0! :D But fer serious, I scrapped the old Ch. 6 and Ch. 7, and this is how it is now. The old one had some stuff in it that just didn't work, seeing as I actually have the entire plot down now. (I watched the movies again, finally.) Also, I'm a junior in high school now, so these chapters should suck less now! Yay! So, here it is, the new Ch. 6.

---

InuYasha sat in the Goshinboku. He had been sitting there for the past day and a half. After their little 'conversation' with Kaede, he burst out of the hut and ran through the forest, coincidentally ending up at the tree. He had jumped into it and crossed his arms, not moving. Just…thinking. If he was to bring Kagome back, then he would have to kill Kikyou and bring her soul with him when he went to find Kagome.

_Damn it! This is all so frustrating…_He heaved a sigh, and crossed his arms. Frustrating, feh.

Meanwhile, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were figuring out how to get the last two shards from Koga.

"But when he hears Kagome's in trouble, won't he just hand them over?" Shippo asked.

"Well, that's assuming he doesn't try to kill InuYasha first." Miroku told him.

"Speaking of InuYasha, has he come down out of that tree yet?" Sango wondered.

Miroku shook his head. "No, he hasn't."

Sango sighed. "Well, he _better_ come down out of that tree so we can hunt down Koga. He can worry about Kikyou later." Sango stood up, and stomped out of the hut, ready to drag him out of the tree.

Miroku smiled perversely and watched her ass, as her hips moved back and forth. She was quite beautiful when she was pissed…. Miroku felt a knock against his knee and saw Shippo staring at him.

"Ahem! Right," he said and followed after the demon slayer.

"InuYasha! Get your butt down here! We need to find Koga!" Sango glared up into the tree. InuYasha groaned and jumped down from the tree.

"What for? He's a bastard! I don't want to go find him."

"But you do want Kagome back."

InuYasha sighed. Koga _did _have two shards. And he'd need both of them to get Kagome back.

"Alright, fine. We'll go find the wolf." InuYasha smelled the air, trying to pick up Koga's scent. It was very faint, but it was definitely Koga's. InuYasha took off in the wolf demon's direction.

---

Over the next four days, the Fellowship changed their path twice. First, they went from the Gap of Rohan to the Pass of Caradhras.

_The afternoon was bright, and the Fellowship stopped for lunch. After they'd eaten, Merry and Pippin sparred with Boromir. The three carried on quite the mock fight. Aragorn and Kagome watched, entertained. _

"_Good, boys. Good," Boromir encouraged. He parried a blow from Pippin, and returned with a strike of his own, accidentally catching the hobbit's hand. _

"_Ouch!" _

"_Sorry!" Boromir hastily apologized. Pippin glared up at him and swiftly kicked him in the shin. "Ahh!"_

_Merry shouted, "Get him!" and proceeded to tackle the two of them to the ground. Aragorn and Kagome laughed in delight as Boromir struggled to lift the two hobbits off. _

_Their mock battle continued joyously as Legolas noticed something out of place towards the south. He leapt gracefully onto a large flat rock and gazed intently towards the south. _

_Sam noticed him and inquired, "What is it?"_

"_It's nothing," Gimli answered matter-of-factly. "It's just a cloud."_

_Boromir looked to the south, his eyes narrowed to see more clearly. "It moves quickly...against the wind." _

_Legolas's eyes widened and he shouted "Crebain from Dunland!"_

_Everyone started moving in a hurry, fussing about putting out the fire and getting their packs under cover. _

"_What?" Kagome asked. "What's going on?"_

_Aragorn grabbed her arm and pulled her along to hide under a boulder's overhang. _

"_What--?"_

"_Shh." Aragorn pressed a finger to his lips. They waited in silence and listened._

_At first, Kagome didn't hear much. Then as the minutes grew longer, she began to hear the beat of wings. And then suddenly the cawing of a thousand birds filled her ears. She covered them against the noise. The large black birds circled overhead once or twice, then flew back from the direction they came. A collective breath was exhaled from the Fellowship, and after another moment in hiding for caution's sake, they crawled out from their hiding spots. _

_Gandalf stood tall, stretching his back and staring after the birds. Kagome came up beside him._

"_What were they?" she asked innocently. _

"_The spies of Saruman," he replied simply. He then turned to Aragorn, and said, "The road south is being watched. We must take the Pass of Caradhras."_

And so they had. They'd made their way to the foothills of the mountains, and by late afternoon the next day they had reached the mountain path. They made camp early, as Gandalf had told them of the rigors of the trek through the mountains, and suggested that they all get an early rest. The hiking would be hard for the next few days, he said. They started up the mountain path, and soon they had to change their route for the second time.

_Kagome shivered- it was absolutely freezing up here. Snow covered the ground and reached up to her knees. Even with Legolas's thick elven cloak, the cold chilled her to the bone. Her thin school uniform was definitely inappropriate for this kind of weather. The wind whipped at her hair and her teeth began to chatter. She cursed herself for not thinking to wear something warmer to the feudal era. Or at least more durable. _

"_You alright?" Aragorn asked, obviously noticing her shivering. _

"_Yeah," she lied. _'If only I could go home and change into sweatpants,' _she thought. Aragorn nodded and continued ahead, checking with the hobbits next. They were huddled together, stumbling through the deep snow. _

_The wind blew harder and flew up under the cloak. _'Forget sweatpants- I want snowpants!'

_Before Kagome could take another step, she heard a very loud cracking sound from above. Looking up, she saw heavy blocks of ice falling towards them. She trudged out of the way as fast as she could, and it crashed along the edge of the path and tumbled down to mountainside. _

_Legolas came up behind her and shouted over the wind to Gandalf, "There is a foul voice on the air!" Kagome could not fathom how he could hear anything over the howling of this blizzard. Nor how he could prance right past her over the top of the snow with his light step, staring right into the face of the storm and listening for the words of the voice that Kagome could not hear. _

"_Saruman!" Gandalf realized. _

_Aragorn called to him. "He must be trying to bring the mountain down upon us! We must turn back!"_

"_No!" Gandalf replied. He stood tall and raised his arms, staff in one hand. He began to chant something in a language she could not understand. The ice seemed to stop crumbling onto them for a moment, but then lightning struck the mountain, and a huge avalanche of snow fell onto the group. They were all buried._

_Kagome pushed herself upwards through the freezing snow and poked her head out into the cold air. _

"_We must turn back and make for the Gap of Rohan, and from there to my city!" Boromir yelled._

"_No!" Aragorn called back. "It would bring us too close to Isengard!" _

"_The mines! If we cannot go over this blasted mountain, let us go under it!" Gimli shouted after pulling himself out of the snow. _

_In the end, Gandalf let Frodo decide. He was uneasy, but accepted the decision to take the trip through the dwarven tunnels. _

So they doubled back and wrapped around the mountain, finding their way through an overgrown path to the west gate of Moria. They reached there by nightfall.

---

Okay, so it's not as spectacular as I'd hoped, but meh. The next one should be better.


End file.
